Proprietor and breeder David Howden has prolonged his dedication to racing by offering important funding into the newly-launched Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme.
Howden, CEO of his eponymous insurance coverage group, loved victory at Royal Ascot this summer time as Working Lion gained the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at a monitor the place his firm can be an official accomplice alongside Qipco and Longines.
Howden’s curiosity in equestrianism consists of the game of eventing, along with his daughter Jemima a rising star within the self-discipline as a member of Nice Britain’s younger rider group this summer time on the European championships in Strezgom, Poland.
Racing and eventing typically overlap, and ex-racehorses are more and more wanted to transition into different equestrian sports activities too among the many giant variety of horses that go away the racing business every year in quest of a brand new vocation.
To assist riders taking over ex-racehorses and in flip assist the horses themselves, Howden has devised the Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme, an initiative offering a nationwide assist community for riders and a number of alternatives for subsidised coaching.
The brand new Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme was launched at @TheHowdenWay Christmas Racing Weekend at @Ascot yesterday 🐴@TB_Aftercare has been set as much as allow extra racehorses to reside a rewarding life after they retire from racing @mickfitzg | @AlicePlunkett | @chamberlinsport… pic.twitter.com/tHhERhycHt
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) December 23, 2024
The academic component of the programme will help riders in guiding their horses by the transition from racing to their chosen new self-discipline, breaking down the frequent obstacles confronted and thus aiming to problem a few of the assumptions made about ex-racehorses that may create a reluctance in different equestrian communities on the subject of taking them on.
Along with the Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme, Howden has additionally collaborated with Jayne McGivern of Sprint Grange Stud to develop a brand new class for ex-racehorses at Cornbury Home Horse Trials value £45,000 to the winner – a notable sum of cash in a sport the place prize funds are dwarfed by these supplied in racing.
Howden stated of the idea: “As somebody who’s keen about horse racing, I see it as very important that I’m supporting the game in any manner I can.
“By making a nationwide, freely accessible assist programme that additionally consists of 2,000 subsidised coaching periods a 12 months, I hope we’ll see extra horses go away racing protected within the information that their pathway to turning into a driving horse can be as clean and stress free as attainable.”
Grand Nationwide-winning coach Kim Bailey stated: “I believe it’s extremely vital. I believe all of us realise that the surface world is trying in.
The launch of the @TheHowdenWay Thoroughbred Aftercare Programme (@TB_Aftercare) at @Ascot this morning 🐎 pic.twitter.com/3MfXKKIwjz
— JSC Communications (@JSCComms) December 20, 2024
“I do know from my very own expertise, because the second most looked-at web page on my web site is the ‘The place Are They Now?’ web page. It’s one thing we treasure and work very exhausting on, however we’d like assist and that is going to be an enormous bonus to us.”
Paul Nicholls, 14-times the champion British Nationwide Hunt coach whose former steady heroes Kauto Star and Denman had been each retrained, stated: “It is a improbable initiative, we have to get the message on the market that for a racehorse, racing is barely half their life.
“They’ve nonetheless received half of their lives to do one thing else and there are such a lot of good issues they’ll do.”
Deirdre Johnston, spouse of record-breaking Flat coach Mark, is the co-owner of JL Dublin, a part of the gold medal profitable British group below Tom McEwen on the Paris Olympics.
Her curiosity in each sports activities runs extremely deep, due to this fact, and she or he stated: “They’re essentially the most improbable creatures, I’m nonetheless driving two-year-olds now aged 62!
“If we will get extra folks to take them on and realise how great they’re, then that’s what that is all about.”
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